Gday guys, Have decided to throw my 2 bobs worth in, since I also have had shoulder problems but am managing it quite well. Anyway started playing again about 6months ago after 10 year lay off and almost instantly injured my shoulder but kept playing putting up with the pain. After having a hit with a friend her coach picked up that I was not rotating into the shot properly and this was probably the cause I rectified my poor technique and do not get pain anymore. So all you guys that get shoulder pain make sure your technique is correct. I also have another tip! make sure your shoulder is fully warmed up before playing clears or smashes, I usually practice a little footwork playing over head shots slower than usual to gently warm up the shoulder, I then either get someone to feed me so I can play some drops or do a drop net lift routine until I feel my shoulder is fully warmed up, I then practice a couple of clears and only bring out the smash once I have played a few clears and then I only smash at 1/2-3/4 power. Once I have done this I am fully warmed up and can train/play at full pace it, only takes a few minutes. Cheers Daniel
Warming up is indeed essential for any player but especially so if you have shoulder problems. My condition is arthritic rather than sport-induced as the shoulder I am having surgery on is my leading arm, not my racquet arm. Although, my racquet arm is now suffering badly because I have had to switch all activities to my left arm for the 18 months that my right one has been unable to carryout tasks above chest height. If there are two pieces of advice that makes more sense than anything anyone can tell you, when it comes to shoulder problems. Do NOT try to play through the pain. This will cause further damage, inflammation and could deepen tears in the rotator cuff tendons that will mean major surgery at a later date. Do NOT presume the problem will go away and is purely related to playing badminton. Get to see your Doctor and ascertain the root cause of the problem. If you have tendonitis and impingement of the tendons the situation will only get worse until you reduce the inflammation or the cause of the inflammation. I am looking forward to getting mobility back in my right shoulder so that I can start to balance out activities between my arms and hopefully take some strain off my left one... Meaning the inflammation and pain will go from my left shoulder... Otherwise, I may be ending up with two lots of surgery. I didn't imagine arthritis would be affecting my life quite so drastically when I am only 29 years old. I hope it gets no worse in the future.
Sorry to hear that Scoobz, To have this at age 29 is very young and unfortunate. I am 27 myselft. Hope everything goes well for your surgery, hope for the best but also prepare mentally for the worst (i.e. it may not be as good a improvement as you imagined). Surgical outcome is a hard thing to predict. I couldn't agree with you more regarding not playing through the pain. GUYS , DON'T PLAY THROUGH THE PAIN ! It is not worth it to damage your body and result may affect your lifestyle if not now, 5, 10, 20 years later. Unless of course, if you are Taufik or Lin Dan etc.... and only 2 points away from an Olympic medal / 6-7 star comp championship point, that's another story......by doing it can positively affect your life should the gamble pays off. All the best to you Scoobz and relax. I tell all my patients... just relax. Coz you can either worry or stress.... but you still have to go through with it and it won't help if you stress... but if you feel happy and relaxed, may improve healing !
Shoulder Aches? Try this simply exercise. With both arms behind your back in a standing position and with all fingers inter-locking each other, slowly stretch out your both hands (fingers must remain inter-locked) and hold it there for a few seconds. Repeat this several times. The aches will go away soon. sure works.
my chiro gets me to do excercises where i push muscle underneath my shoulder blade out. Active release helps the most tho.
Sorry guys, didnt mean to imply that anyone should play through pain, just explaining how I got the injury int he first place. What I forgot to mention was in between injuring my shoulder and playing with my friend and her coach I had about 3-4 weeks off playing badminton as the pain was still there. To the original poster of this topic, have a bit of time off and see how you go, injuries take time to heal, a few weeks off now may save you months off later, if the pain is still there get it checked out by a Doctor, Im sure he can tell you what steps to take. Scoobz good luck with your shoulders. Anyway at least I know Im not the only one that feels like he is falling apart at 28. Cheers Daniel
i have the shoulder pain too...but it is not as serious...what i do normally...is i applied deepheat to the shoulder before i start the game...may not do me any good afterward...but i can actually play the game without pain..
Daniel, Would you mind sharing what you have learned and the excercise you use to correct your rotation? I also have shoulder pain that typically starts 1 or 2 days after a game. However, I don't feel the pain during game after warming up. Thanks JJ
In most cases, you may not feel any pain during the game but may experience some discomfort (tightness) in the shoulder when warming-up. The pain is due to inflammation of the bursa and tendons, which in turn rub against the bone (acromion) causing pain and further inflammation (the problem is then self-propagating). For this reason, you usually feel the pain after you have finished playing and possible a day or two after a session. It can be beneficial to ICE the shoulder after playing, which prevent inflammation and therefore removes pain. This can also help prevent the self-propagating situation. It is advised to get a bag of frozen peas and to wrap them in a thin towel (to avoid direct skin contact with the frozen bag). Hold the cold-compress onto the shoulder for 10-15 minutes. Repeat this process 2-4 times per day for the couple of days after playing. Just over 6 weeks until my surgery.... I'm hoping the fact I am away in Thailand for 3 of those weeks will help me forget about the operation and prevent 'worry'.
